Originally Posted by
danger
I thought I was clear on the rule about terminating in a different country than the originating country but now I'm confused.
Rule 4(c) states:
Travel may originate at any point for which fares are published and must terminate at the same point, except that origin-destination surface segments are permitted as follows
(a) within the country of origin
(b) within the Middle East
(c) between the United States and Canada
(d) between HKG and China
(e) between Malaysia and SIN
(f) within Africa
(g) between Maldives & Sri Lanka/India
Does this mean that if, for example, you originate in Johannesburg and terminate in Windhoek, Namibia you must allow a final surface sector JNB-WDH? That is to say, there would be a wasted sector such that, at most, you could have only 15 flight sectors with the final sector being the surface sector?
I was under the impression that this rule meant simply you could terminate in a different country than you originated but the inclusion of the words "surface segments" has me confused.
Your original view is correct. The final "surface sector" between origin and destination is not actually a surface sector, in the (IATA-defined) meaning of the world "surface sector".
It is not a sector at all but rather a difference in origin and destination. It will not contribute to your limit.
Indeed I am not convinced that any eticketing system could count a final sector as a surface sector, even if a TA or an airline desired to create a ticket like this.
Originally Posted by
danger
That has been my understanding but a travel agent I've been dealing with in Maputo has reverted an email from Qatar saying "Kindly advise the passenger that his journey should end in the same country he initially originated from". My itinerary begins in MPM and ends in JNB. Obviously Qatar clearly has no clue about the rules but when I went to the rule sheet to provide the rule back to the TA, I was concerned about the "surface segment" language.
Qatar are not the sharpest knives in the book and their senior management do not inspire initiative. Good luck. You may have better luck if your TA tries ticketing with another airline. The ticket may be validly issued on the stock of (almost) any oneworld airline.